Watashi no Koi, Harukakun
by Chlorine Trifluoride
Summary: After Hotaru's life is saved by an upperclassman, she finds herself developing feelings for them, much to their dismay. But what if she doesn't know everything about them? AU
1. Tenshi

Well, I'm back with a new fanfic. (Don't you all run away at once….) And I don't think anyone's tried THIS yet. (Everyone: because no one else is that stupid.) . Of course, Hotaru's still playing lead character, so I haven't changed THAT much.

Like I said, I'm going boldly where no idiot has ever gone before… and now, I think I actually have a good idea for once. If you have any ideas past this chapter, run 'em by me, and I just might use them (and credit you too).

If you read the summary, then you should have a general idea on where I plan to take this fic. No actual Hotaru/Haruka here, because I have no means of justifying THAT by even the thinnest thread of actual canon. It will probably be one sided under the condition that Hotaru thinks Haruka is male. (Note that by the pronouns in this fic she isn't. Haruka + male icky).

Disclaimer: I'm flat broke, and have no money to own cool-ass anime like Sailormoon. Therefore this story is my creation, but the characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi, TOEI, and whoever else had a hand in it.

So, get your popcorn (or flamethrower) and prepare yourself for chapter one.

**First reviewer gets a gingerbread cookie. ;)**

**Chapter One: Tenshi**

* * *

It was a cold and windy day, so much so that even the most daring of 6th grade boys could not be found in their usual spot in the playground behind the school. No, that privilege was given to the junior high school students, who had adopted a motto similar to the US postal service. 

The other grades filed out of the school slowly, their pace quickening as the rain pattered against their umbrellas. Girls chattered with one another animatedly and boys challenged one another to great feats of strength such as "Let's see who can throw mud the furthest". Even in one Tokyo's most elite schools, kids were still kids.

One girl, close to the back of the line, walked the slowest, causing several other students behind her to jump in front of her and keep walking. What reason had she to go home? The only thing she would have to look forward was to be being under the tyranny of Kaori and more homework now that the new school year had begun. She stepped carefully over puddles, knowing that if she fell, people would point and laugh.

Through violet eyes, she looked at the students in her homeroom walking out of school, and the carefree grins on their faces. Nothing mattered now. Midyears and other big tests were not going to happen until September at the earliest. And who would think of giving a large test at the beginning of the school year. Besides, they were in seventh grade. There weren't any entrance exams to worry about for two years!

She buttoned her sweater all the way up to her neck. Why was she so cold all of a sudden? As she crossed the slippery street, she became aware of the cars that had just stopped short of her. She looked up at the sign, and saw that she had the light. She felt dizzy, the headlights on cars spinning around her like lights on a carousel. Her throat was dry and tight.

"No." she whispered "Not here, please…."

Her pleas were to no avail. Students had passed her already, no one noticing the girl stumbling in the middle of the street. She threw her hands in front of her to break her fall, as her foot got caught in a grating. Down she went, landing with a wet _slap _upon the slick pavement. She tried to rise, and in horror realized that she couldn't move.

She raised her head a few inches, and saw, with even more fear that the light had turned from red to green.

"Kami-sama, no" she murmured as she felt the hot breath of awaiting cars upon her back.

* * *

Around the same time as Hotaru had walked out of the school, another girl, sat in a café, casually sipping coffee and otherwise trying to avoid the unusually cold April day. Next to her, absentmindedly writing in her notebook, sat her companion, who also had a steaming beverage beside her, on the table. 

"Michi, can I have a sip of your coffee?" the girl asked. The other girl closed her notebook and covered the top of her cup with her hand, making it clear to the other one that she was not getting within ten feet of it.

"What's wrong with yours, Haruka?" she chided lightly. In response, Haruka made a face of disdain at the light brown liquid swirling in the china cup.

"Too much sugar…" she complained, stretching her arms, and inadvertently, causing the table to shift. The other girl's coffee shifted with the table, forcing some of the dark liquid out of the cup, and onto the black cover of her notebook. She looked at Haruka with a sigh, and sought a napkin to wipe the dark splotch from the cover.

"Haruka! Honestly…" she began slightly dismayed. Her protests ceased, however, when she found herself being hugged by the person next to her. She felt her cheeks go slightly pink.

"Why d'you bring that thing with you?" Haruka asked, her eyes on the notebook. "We're in 10th grade, so there's no entrance exams to be studying for, or any large tests in the near future. Nerd."

"An attitude like that explains your D in chemistry", the other girl retaliated. "It's good to study for tests besides the midyear, once in a while. You wouldn't know about that, though, would you?"

Haruka nodded heartily. There was no arguing with that. Michiru couldn't help but smile slightly at her, despite the fact that her math notebook was soggy.

"I suppose I could take a break…" she murmured, settling further into Haruka's arms. With a quick glance, around, Haruka determined that no one was watching. Now facing Michiru, she tilted her head downward to catch the girl in a kiss, but before she could, she glanced out the window at what appeared to be a girl about to fall in the middle of the street. Her dark maroon shirt that could be seen in the half buttoned sweater indicated that the two attended the same school.

"What in the world…?" she said, alarmed. The girl had fallen in the street, and appeared unable to move. Michiru had caught onto the new emotion in Haruka's voice, and peered out of the rainy window as well.

"Oh my god!" Michiru half yelled, half whispered as she saw the stoplight turn green. "She'll get hit!"

Haruka was out of her seat and out of the café in a flash, barreling down the sidewalk towards the street. As she grew closer to her destination she could see the girl in the street was not unconscious, but appeared to be coughing, and unfortunately oblivious to her surroundings. A bell tinkling behind her alerted her to the fact that Michiru had left the place as well.

A car swerved just to the right of Hotaru.

"GET OUT OF THE STREET!" Haruka yelled frantically, only after saying it, realizing that the girl was unable to comply. She was in the street too now, trying to run through traffic towards her. The saving grace seemed to be that other drivers saw what she was trying to do, and attempted to move out of the way, except one brazen man who gave her the middle finger and narrowly missed hitting her. 'If a daimon came to attack, I'll make sure to leave _him__.' _She thought.

She had reached the middle of the intersection, where the girl lay, paralyzed in a state of fear, as well as unable to get up. She picked her up in one swift motion, and ran across to the other side of the street.

"Are you okay?" Haruka asked the girl in her arms. Nearly unconscious, Hotaru managed a slight nod. Relief broke out on Haruka's face, and she gave her a reassuring smile.

Hotaru looked up at the face of her savior. He appeared to be a boy, no older than 17, and the smile he flashed at her, even in her weak state made her cheeks flush. Anything telling her to get up and run home, was suppressed by her urge to stop moving altogether. The sun had come out, and was shining behind his head. In her mind's eye, his blond hair became a halo that shined with the light of the sun. And he had saved her life. She smiled weakly at him, and passed out before unspoken words could escape her lips.

Someone else now stood at Haruka's side, looking just as concerned for Hotaru.

"Is she….." Michiru tried, worriedly. Haruka shook her head, quelling her dismay.

"No. Not dead. She's out like a light though, and she hit her head. C'mon, let's get her to a hospital." she said, her slight concern for the girl slumped in her arms turning into outright alarm. She was sure Michiru felt the same way she did, but both girls seemed like they were trying to remain calm.

They walked off, Haruka holding Hotaru, the word the small girl was about to say being lost and unspoken. She was dreaming fitfully now, and would not remember to say it for a long time afterward.

_"Tenshi."_

* * *

End of Chapter one. 

**A/N:** Okay, there's a few things I want to clear up. I did a bit of research and found that the section of the part of the materials collection (character design and whatnot) artbook containing information about Sailormoon S indicated Haruka's (and Michiru's for that matter) age to be 16. So, according to the Japanese school system, they would be in 10th grade. Hotaru's was a bit harder to find, but according to my translation of the artbook, she was wearing the junior high school uniform. So, that would put her at 13 at the youngest (first year of JHS, 7th grade). Now if someone finds otherwise, email me and depending on if it was a glaring error I'll revise the fic accordingly.

Also, the Japanese school year starts in April, and I figure it can still be pretty cold even then. After all, Usagi was wearing long sleeves when she started high school (episode 167).

Tenshi is the closest Japanese equivalent to angel. So, it seems fitting that Hotaru would want to call Haruka that.

... Last, but certainly not least, please review the fic. Critiques are fine, and flames will be used to help me bake my Christmas cookies.

Ja ne!

Sailor Prozac


	2. Tomoe Hotaru

Disclaimer: If I owned Sailormoon, I'd have to be older since it was created before I was born. As it stands, I'll have to settle for being a fanfiction writer.

* * *

Outside of Hotaru's mind, her body was being carried to someone's car. Inside of her mind, however, she was dreaming. 

_"__Suu__-chan, __wanna__ go outside?" the little dark haired girl asked eagerly, a doll with a painted on smile in one hand, and a pair of gloves in the other hand. __"Ne, __Suu__-chan?"_

_A woman with dark red hair walked briskly toward Hotaru._

"Don't drop her now!" someone else chided.

_"What have I told you about going outside?!" she asked, angrily, quickly losing patience with the child who would not listen "Your father, this time, has given me express instructions not to let you!"_

_Hotaru ran past the woman, crying, because it was snowing and she wanted to see it, and because Kaori was going out of her way to upset her, just because she was angry once more that HE seemed to love her more._

"Don't worry, she's breathing"

_"Why should I listen to you?!" she scre__amed, wanting to hurt Kaori as the knowledge of being unable to do anything anymore had hurt her.__ "You're not mama!" _

_Kaori staggered back as if dealt a blow, and stalked away, leaving Hotaru sitting there cradling her doll, __that seemed__ to be her only friend. _

"She's murmuring something… I can't tell what"

_"__It's__ okay, __Suu__-chan. She didn't mean __to scare you" she whispered, stepping into her room and closing the door._

She was alone, being plunged into the dark.

"Mama?", she asked, bleary eyed.

_"__Suu__-chan?"_

"Michi, are you holding her head?" Haruka asked as she drove. "I think she's got a concussion or something"

Michiru continued to immobilize the girl, trying to get her to stop moving. Ever since they had gotten her into Haruka's car, she had been murmuring things and twitching intermittently. She had suggested calling an ambulance to take her to the hospital, but against Michiru's better judgment, Haruka had decided to drive the poor girl there herself.

"We're almost there. I can see it" she said quickly. Michiru nodded, and much to her surprise, the girl opened her eyes.

"Haruka, she's awake…" she said, relieved. Haruka took her eyes off of the road for one second, and turned to look at the girl. Now, even though it was almost dark, the headlights illuminated her violet eyes.

Hotaru struggled to speak, especially when she saw where they were planning to take her. Papa would not like this. As the car stopped, she looked for the latch on the door that would unlock it. If it unlocked, she could run for it.

"Hold on, you're not going anywhere until the doctors have a look at you" Haruka said, noticing the girl's attempt to flee. "Do you even know what happened?"

Hotaru barely remembered anything, but she had a fair idea. She didn't see what the big deal was. Now that the attack was over, she was fine. Then with a soft groan that Michiru took for pain, she realized that none of the people in the car with her knew that.

"It's okay," Hotaru murmured in what she hoped was a reassuring voice "I don't want to trouble you"

Michiru put her hands on Hotaru's.

"Trust me, you're not troubling us." She said softly, not wanting to scare her. Hotaru blinked. Why were they being so nice? Even so, she really had to leave.

"I-I can't" Hotaru stammered apprehensively, as Haruka parked the car in the hospital parking lot. "Papa would not allow it"

Haruka rolled her eyes slightly at this statement, but slowed her pace getting out of the car.

"Why wouldn't he?" Haruka asked, curiously "You fainted in the middle of the street for no apparent reason. If someone found my kid and _didn't_ take them to the hospital after that, I'd be angry."

"I AM nobody's kid." Hotaru said, her tone becoming very dark very quickly. There was something about the certainty of the statement that did not sit well with Haruka. At the oldest, this girl could be 10? 11? She was not about to be swayed by a preteen.

"Whatever you are, you're going to let the doctor check you out" was her reply.

As she turned to open the passenger door for Hotaru, she moved to say something else but didn't. Desperately, Hotaru tried to convey the message that she could not go into the hospital with her dark eyes. Aside from Papa and Kaori being furious, she couldn't go in. Not after what happened. To her, the hospital was where the dead people went to be finished off.

Haruka looked into her eyes, saw something in them and hesitated before pulling open the door. She decided to try to reassure her that she would be in no trouble.

"No." Hotaru responded finally, crossing her arms, and giving them a look that dared them to try to get her any further. "I'm really sorry, but I'm not going in. And this isn't about the trouble"

Something about that statement struck Michiru as being beyond what the scope of a child could usually say.

Michiru and Haruka nodded.

"I see that your mind is made up, then" Haruka muttered, wishing there was some way to tie her down and drag her in. Something about the girl set off a red flag in her mind, and she wasn't sure what, or why it did in the first place. She didn't see how it could, though, the girl was weak and harmless.

Hotaru staggered off and began walking off in the direction that she thought her house was in, when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"If we may, can we at least drop you off at your house?" Michiru asked. Hotaru smiled at them both nervously and nodded.

She got back into the car, and looked at her feet embarrassed. What she had just done was very rude, and very far of her common way.

The car started.

"What's your name?" Haruka asked from the front seat, as she put the car in gear. She adjusted the rearview mirror so she could see Hotaru's face.

"Tomoe Hotaru" she responded. Michiru remarked at what a beautiful name that was, causing Hotaru to turn red. No one had called anything having to do with her beautiful.

"Mine is Kaioh Michiru, and Haruka's sitting in the front. You go Mugen Gakuen, don't you?" she asked. Hotaru nodded.

"I'm in seventh grade." She said brightly, happy in fact at something to talk about, pointing to the blue bow on her uniform. Michiru tried not to laugh at that. She had been just as proud to be a junior high student in seventh grade as Hotaru was now. Hotaru looked at her curiously, wondering why she was laughing.

"Have I done something to-…." She began, wondering if she was laughing at her. Michiru shook her head.

"You remind me so much of myself three years ago." She clarified. "It's cute."

Haruka smiled at this.

"Yeah, I remember seventh grade. I used to beat up Joji Shizue for his lunch money then", she joked. Hotaru burst out laughing at this quickly covering her mouth, and Michiru shook her head at Haruka.

"Haruka's kidding, of course. I doubt anyone actually beat up Joji Shizue." She added. Hotaru was convulsing in a fit of silent giggles, much to the amusement of Haruka and Michiru. She became more pensive though, when she realized that she was almost home. Haruka was back near Mugen Gakuen.

"I can get home from here" Hotaru stated, looking at the school building, but Haruka shook her head.

"I'd feel better knowing you were home safe" she responded, wondering why she was so eager to get away from them. "So point me in the direction of your house."

"Well if you take a left here, it's just straight down this block", Hotaru said, pointing at a dimly lit block, if a well groomed one. Haruka sped down the block, and Michiru pretended to make her seatbelt tighter as she increased, causing Hotaru to laugh once more.

She looked out the window at all of the houses, and at the porch light shining on hers.

Familarity.

She was home.

And for once, she wished she wasn't.

"What a nice house." Haruka remarked. Michiru did too, and Hotaru wished her skin wasn't so pale, because at that moment, she was sure that anyone within a 10 mile radius could see the blush on her face.

"Arigatou Gozaimasu" Hotaru said. Haruka got out of the car to open the back passenger seat for her.

"No prob." Haruka said, wondering why the girl was being so formal.

"I can't thank you enough, Mr..."Hotaru began, hoping the man would supply her with his name.

"Tenou Haruka." Haruka chuckled inwardly at the "Mr." part. She wasn't the first to make that assumption, and she certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Tenou-san, then," Hotaru replied smiling. She began the short walk up her porch steps, making careful measured steps. The world spun again and she tried to grab something to steady herself. Haruka grabbed her by the arm before she could fall, however.

"You'll be okay." Haruka murmured softly, more to herself than anyone else. She felt suddenly protective of the girl, whose features she could see more clearly now that they were being bathed in the yellow glow of the bug light affixed to the top of the porch wall. She was quite small for someone her age, with a thin, slight frame, and violet eyes that could hold your gaze forever. They however, were directed at the ground, as if, if she looked directly at Haruka, the kindness she had shown her would disappear and she would be left standing on her porch, alone again.

She reached out to ring the bell, but as she did the doorknob turned and the door slowly creaked open.

A woman with a white face and blood-red hair appeared.

"Kaori" Hotaru said icily, her tone once again switching to the more adult tone Haruka had heard before.

"Why, little Hotaru-chan, you've brought a friend." She said in a way that made Haruka imagine the wolf that ate the grandmother.

Kaori appeared to be addressing Haruka when she said something else.

"Thank you for transporting Hotaru-chan home safely" she said, sweetly, invoking another unpleasant feeling within her. Hotaru nodded again, walked inside and closed the door.

"Goodbye, Tenou-san" she murmured, her voiced tinged with sadness.

Haruka walked briskly back to her car, her job seemingly done. She had brought the girl home and she was seemingly alright, she reflected as she walked back to the car. But...

"Something's not right." Michiru said, affirming Haruka's own thoughts. She nodded in agreement, unable to shake that feeling.

"I'm still worried about her" she whispered after a pause. They both looked at each other.

"I think I'll stop here tomorrow after I pick you up and see if she needs a ride to school" Haruka stated, looking at Hotaru's rather extravagant looking house. Michiru put one of her hands on hers, and the other hand on her face. Haruka turned.

"I think that's a good idea."

-----end of chapter 2.

* * *

There now, it's longer. 

This chapter took me forever, even though most of it was done about two days after I posted chapter 1. What can I say? I'm lazy like that. Sorry it took me so long.

On an unrelated note, I'm seeking a beta-reader. I'd prefer if you were a fic writer for this fandom, but otherwise, no real preferences. Any takers?

Ja ne!

Sailor Prozac


	3. The Dream

Oh god, it's been a while. School got in the way for a long time, since I'm taking really hard classes, but still, that's not much of an excuse for not updating in almost... Man, it's been two years, practically.

When I got the idea for this story, I was in 8th grade. Now, I'm in 11th. Wow.

Well, yeah, I haven't stopped writing, but I've been awfully neglectful of my fanfics, which I hate being because I know people read them. Well, I'm going to try to update this more faithfully than I have in the past. Namely, getting chapter 4 out sometime before January 15th.

**Chapter 3: The Dream**.

* * *

Haruka sat hunched over at the desk in her room, concentrated on highlighting pages in yet another textbook. Redox reactions. Whose bright idea was it for her to learn this? She certainly wasn't ever going to use it. Beside her, sat Kaioh Michiru, kneeling gracefully at a low end table, flipping through a book of sheet music. Her violin lay in its case beside her. The smaller girl seemed absentminded on this April evening, a first in Haruka's experience.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you? That Tomoe girl." She asked, closing her chemistry textbook and moving it aside. Michiru nodded, turning to face Haruka.

"Something about her is a little off. About where she lives, I mean." Haruka continued, rambling slightly. "Like, she seemed hesitant to go into that house, and her mother looks kinda scary."

"That's not her mother." Michiru coolly stated the fact.

"Oh?"

"Have you ever heard someone call their mother by their first name? Kaori? She's obviously too old to be Tomoe-san's sister, but mother? I don't think so."

Haruka pondered this before speaking once again, although, she gave merely a laconic "I guess." in reply. Michiru let her aqua gaze linger on her.

"Are you planning to pick her up tomorrow?"

"I promised, didn't I?" Haruka replied. Michiru gave her a smile and let her thoughts drift over to less pleasant topics of conversation.

"The talismans," was all she had to state. They needed no further introduction before the almost warm mien Haruka was displaying froze and her brown eyes started to gaze coldly at nothing in particular.

"I guess we'll have to get onto that too." She mused. "Although, I don't particularly want anything to do with them. I don't think anyone would."

"They wouldn't. But it's necessary what we do, isn't it? We can't just cruise around, stopping at coffee shops and dropping random girls off at their houses. We have to get down to what needs to be done." At another mention of Tomoe-san, a chill went down Haruka's spine, as she thought of something terrible.

"About that girl, what if she has one of the..." She couldn't finish.

"Then you_ know_ what we have to do." Michiru stressed. "No one said this job was easy, and the talismans could be held by anyone. Anyone at all."

When she chanced a glance at Haruka, however, she wished she hadn't made that statement. She appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"Anyone. My mother. My father, not that I give a damn about him. The girls who wave at me in the morning, hell, _you _or _I _ could have one of them and you're telling me that I'm supposed to stand there and zap you into oblivion if need be? What kind of messed up idea is that?" Her voice nearly cracked. "I can't. I won't do it. Not you, not them, not that little girl with the purple eyes, not anyone!" She banged her fist against the table, the vibrations of which caused her chemistry book to fall onto the floor, spine first, and open to a page about aqueous solutions.

"When I became a Sailor Senshi, I thought I'd be saving people's lives, y'know, making the world a better place, all that crap you read about in comic books, and now what? What side of things are we even on? What kind of noble thing is this, thinking about killing people. I don't care about your 'greater good' bullshit. Death is death."

Michiru, seeing the effect her words had on her love, tried to fix it, though, knowing full well, it was hard to stop a deluge of thoughts once the faucet had already been turned on.

"Forget it, Haruka. Forget it for now. We're not against a daimon right now, so it doesn't matter. Just...." She struggled for words. "Just study for chemistry, or something."

But Haruka made no move to open her textbook. She didn't move to start shouting again, so Michiru supposed that was a good sign. Instead, she simply sat there, with her previous words hanging like an invisible curtain upon the air. After a moment and another of silence, she spoke.

"Maybe that's why we care about that girl. Because saving her wasn't some ambiguous _Am I doing the right thing _kind of dilemma. You just saw her there, and I ran out into the street to save her. There was no blasted question about that, none at all. She's alive, and it's in part because of us. We're drawn to that kind of certainty, I think. What about you?"

"I think you have a good theory there, Haruka. I also think you'd do better if you could be so thoughtful in your essays for Literature class." Haruka let out a snort of laughter.

"Ah, you know I'd never be so intelligent where it actually matters. Where would my overall average go if I did that?"

"Up?" Michiru guessed.

* * *

_It was dark. That was all Hotaru could ascertain. It was dark, and she had no idea where she was, although she thought she could see the vague and hazy outlines of piled stuffed animals in the distance. When she opened her mouth to speak, a queer thing happened._

_"Hello?" She timidly asked, but it came out as more of a malevolent greeting, issued in a strange voice she knew wasn't her own._

_"What is it you desire?" Another voice rose in reply._

_"Hearts. Pure hearts." Her red gaze flicked up toward the form of Tomoe Souichi, her loyal servant. "You know what you have to do, isn't that right?"_

_"Yes, mistress." He gave her a low bow._

_"Then do it!" She screamed, pushing him away from her. "If you know what you must do, then don't return until you have something to show for your efforts!"_

She awoke, covered in a thin layer of sweat, tangled in her sheets, with her face pressed into a pillow. It had all been a dream. Her room was still her room, not some dark chamber, and she wasn't some evil... thing. But still. This dream had happened before, often with disastrous results.

"Oh no." She glanced around her room. "What did I do now?"

Nothing appeared to be out of place - there were no broken lamps or evidence that she had started screaming or throwing things. But still... That dream.... That recurring dream. It seemed to always surface whenever she started to feel anything other than despair, almost to spite her feelings. If she got 100 on a test and felt some kind of inward pride, there it was that night, to confuse her, to perplex her and to tinge her otherwise innocent thoughts with something darker. Far darker.

Hotaru was not a fool. In fact, as far as intelligence was concerned, she out-performed most in her grade level, even though she attended Mugen Gakuen, one of the most prestigious schools in Tokyo. But this, this wasn't a problem to be figured. This was something stranger and harder to answer, and it infuriated and scared her. That woman whose personality she assumed in her dreams was not her in any way, shape or form.

It was puzzling. Hotaru despised uncertainties, almost as much as she hated Kaori.

Speaking of Kaori........

She hadn't seen the woman since she had come through the door, floating on bubble of hope and filled with visions of talking to the two people who had dropped her home. Kaori had been quick, in dark tones, to interrogate the poor girl.

"You didn't let them take you anywhere? To the hospital? A doctor? Any place but here?"

"No, no, and no, Kaori-san." Hotaru crossly replied.

"Good." The woman's crimson lips still shone like rubies despite the darkness of the room. Hotaru thought they looked like they were covered in blood. Her hair, her clothing, her lips, even her eyes, at some points, were that same color. But her skin was pale as snow, her legs white and shapely as she walked out of the room.

"Good." Hotaru echoed Kaori's last comment, before adding a "She's gone."

As she floated away from her thoughts of moments passed and back to reality, she came to realize that she had left her room and was now staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, her skin almost as white as the wall behind her.

Quietly, she padded back upstairs to her bedroom, violet eyes glancing around, searching for Kaori or her father, the enigmatic man in the white lab coat. When she reached her room, she saw that her bed was in a state of disarray, sheets rumpled, and that her heavy lavender blanket was balled up. On her desk, was a tray, containing a glass of milk, a note, carefully written in neat kanji, and a single, bright green, almost luminescent pill.

"Hotaru, please take your medication." The note read. In her mind, she was throwing the glass of milk into the wall, stomping on the pill with her foot, and grinding it into glowing, odd-smelling dust, but the neutral look on her face had hardly faltered before she had popped the pill into her mouth and downed the glass of milk in two gulps. It felt as if something slimy and foreign was sliding down her throat, but her father instructed her to take the medication, so it must have been doing something.

Again, she felt oddly sleepy. The day had taken so much out of her. Her eyelids drooped as if they were being pulled down by weights. Quickly, she looked at the mountain of books on her desk, confirming with herself that she had finished all of her work, not that it would have mattered either way. _But I remember finishing it_ she thought, before darkness pulled her away from awareness and into slumber.

Light was streaming into her east-facing room before it even occurred to her to wake up. Cognizance came back to her in stages. First, she realized that it was morning. Then, came the realization that it was Tuesday. The blinking red LED light of her clock swam before her eyes. Early, but not that early. Her feet hit the ground with a soft thud and she shuffled over to her dresser drawers, looking for a clean uniform.

As she knelt down, trying to untangle a pair of black stockings from a black, long sleeved sweater, a bright yellow Ferrari, the signature car of only one person, approached her house.

"You're sure you have the right street and everything?" Michiru asked, as the cool spring wind blew through her aqua hair.

Haruka continued accelerating toward her supposed destination.

"Yeah, Michiru. I never forget a house."

"You forgot where your new apartment was when you moved into it." Michiru quipped.

"Nah, that was just because I was trying to think of an excuse that would get you to walk me home." Haruka shot her a smirk that she was quick to return.

She slammed on the brakes when she approached the house she thought was Hotaru's, causing Michiru's head to snap forward and almost smack into the windshield.

"Haruka!" Michiru began to chide, however, her target appeared to not be paying attention.

"Why is it that whenever I get near this house, I get the weirdest feeling?" Haruka asked, her eyes taking on a faraway quality. Michiru thought of a reply, but as the same thought washed over her, she was rendered silent

"I don't know." Michiru pensively murmured.

This mysterious sway that the house tenuously held over them was easily broken when a small, black cat shot around nearby corner, in its continued flight from a group of children that was chasing it.

"What in the world was that about?" Michiru asked, when they had run out of sight.

"I have no idea." Haruka replied. "But this is taking too long. I think it's time to wake her up."

She blasted the horn, sending every bird within a hundred foot radius flying, simultaneously, from its perch. Inside of the house, Kaori and Souichi, deep within the bowels of the Tomoe Laboratory, heard nothing, while Hotaru, dressing upstairs in her room was left to wonder what in the world could be making all that racket. The cacophony ceased before she could run to the window, coughing, although the cause of the noise still remained seated in her bright, yellow Ferrari.

Hotaru's mouth dropped. Seated there in the car, were Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru, two of the smartest, most talented, most popular people in Mugen Gakuen. Dimly, she recalled that they had dropped her home after her attack yesterday night, but she wondered why on earth they could possibly be here now. As she continued her shocked stare at the car, Haruka, the blond one, by chance, happened to glance up at where she stood at a window on the second floor, eyes wide.

"Tomoe-san!" She called, a smile on her face. Hotaru blushed. Michiru turned and also smiled at the girl.

Hotaru floated, as if on a cloud, downstairs toward the car. Hardly believing what was happening, she listened as Haruka asked her if it was okay to drop her off at school. As they sped away from her house, her dream resurfaced in her mind, chilling her like a cold wind on an otherwise warm spring afternoon.

However, as the car sped away from her house, its inhabitants laughing and talking all the while, Hotaru thought she would never feel as far away from those foreboding feelings as she did now.

And, given the later circumstances, she was right.

* * *

AN: So yeah, that's chapter 3. My writing style's changed markedly since 9th grade and now. But I still have the same ideas that I did then, and I hope to see them through. So, please review? It was looking through the old reviews that got me back into writing this fic in the first place.

:)

~ Sailor Prozac.


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